Terminus Herd
by ArkaineDarkaxe
Summary: The Mass Effect Galaxy gets a rude awakening when they find out that the Asari are not the strongest biotics anymore. Cerberus moves quickly to try and find the source but they aren't the only ones that had the same idea.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: If you are reading this then you already know the drill…If someone really wants to sue me over Fanfiction then you have no brain cells left in your head and deserve to be drawn and quartered.**

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The cruiser floated through space flying no color besides the metallic grey of the hull. The captain and leaders of the small mercenary bands stood in the holo-viewing room standing in a circle around the hologram of the most powerful Asari in the Treminus systems, Aria T'Loak. "Listen up because you know how much I hate saying things twice. You are going to find whatever made those biotic power ripples that were felt by, more than likely, anyone with any biotic ability in the entire galaxy. If it is hostile kill it but only after you see if we can't convince them to be reasonable and work with us on," Aria stopped for a second to search for the proper wording to use before continuing. "Our mutual survival. So do all of you lunk heads understand what you are doing," She asked knowing that even if they really didn't understand they sure as hell were not going to say it out loud.

The entire room went silent as the mercenary leaders only stared at the projected image of the scariest Asari that any of them had ever met. Aria only smiled before she looked to the captain of the cruiser the mercenaries currently were riding. "You know what I want captain and if I don't get it without a _really_ good reason then I may have to take it out of your hide," the violet goddess of Omega told the Turian captain.

" Of course Aria whatever you say," The captain, hardened by plenty of combat along with death, couldn't keep the tremble out of his voice. As the image disappeared the tough leather face of the captain scanned the multitude of random mercenaries that Aria put on his ship. Each hired-gun wore armor made to tailor to their strengths with very simple color designs. Some wore heavy armor and had heavy weapons strapped to their backs, others had lighter armor to allow the biotics and techs the freedom of movement they needed. The only Turian in the room, that just happened to be the one who owned the ship, spoke up to the rest," Alright, each of you have your orders from Aria. You are supposed to be her go-to squads so I expect you all will finish this quickly so we all can get back to whatever we were doing before this shit storm hit us."

One of the Giant lizard-like Krogan in the room chuckled before giving the room a once over and assessing the other merc leaders."You should be worried about the weak little Salarian and his men messing this up but we Krogan will be in and out without any problems. Whatever it is will be dead within the day once we get there,"

"Maybe you forgot what Aria said Gerak. We have to see if they are hostile first before we go on a slaughtering spree. And that is why Aria sent us," A pale skinned Salarian snidely remarked while motioning to the two others of his species in the room. The Salarian continued his speech with very little pause," Along with you two brutes, so we can make sure you don't start something you shouldn't have with something that can kill you,"

The other six people in the room just happened to be human and each of them looked amused at the argument that started to escalate between the Salarians and Krogans. Each of the humans were skilled at what they did, from slicing computers and hacking security to gunning down targets to throwing their biotic might around. Each of these humans were weapons forged in the flames of combat in the service to Omega and its queen. The two females of the group wore the heaviest armor and wielded the heaviest weapons of the bunch besides the Krogan themselves.

"Enough of your damn posturing you retarded reptiles and get your men ready. We only have two more Mass Relay jumps before we are in system and then you all get to go down onto the planet and play with whatever Aria sent you to find. Now get off of my bridge before I send you all out the airlock," with that the Turian captain left the room they all stood in and headed for his chair to oversee the next two jumps and get one of the first glimpses of the planet that these mysterious readings came from.

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"You and your men have your orders. Don't fail me. It could mean the greatest test subjects for biotic improvement. I will not have incompetent soldiers mucking up humanities chance at getting a jump in the biotics race." The synthetic voice of the Illusive Man said through the holo-communicator he was using.

The soldier stood at attention wearing the usual white and gold of the Cerberus Organization. His mission was easy as they come within the branch of Cerberus. Stay silent, don't get spotted, and send all information gathered back to Headquarters and that was the mission he had now. "Of course sir. You can count on us to get our job done with no casualties and no issues." The Cerberus soldier said with confidence radiating in his voice.

During the soldier's declaration the Illusive Man took a long drag on his cigarette while contemplating his next move on the unknown source of the biotic disturbances. The Illusive man nodded his approval before cutting the communication link.

The soldier left the darkness the communications room into the base he resided in. The walls were a dull grey just like most other bases he slept in. The halls were long and dull just like other Cerberus bases but the hustle and bustle of the scientists always made the day somewhat different than the previous day but soon the halls would be filled with the new subjects for biotic improvements in humans.

After a few turns and doorways passed through he finally reached the launch bay. He looked at the Cerberus cruiser and the twelve men he had under his command. All of them professionals in their own right along with the combat training by the best of Cerberus. All in all he and his team were the best that Cerberus had to offer and they refused to let any target get out of their sights unless instructed to.

They were but one of many teams to be sent across the planet that showed the unusual activity and they were all sent to locations of major biotic outbursts. The only thought that went through the recon squad's heads was the major boon it would be for humanity to get a hold of whatever it was that was causing the disturbances.

"Alright men get your gear and move onto the ship. We have a few Relay jumps ahead of us but we will be the first on that damned planet so keep your guard up and keep your heads on a swivel for any hostiles or other unwanted guests we may encounter. Just remember that we are going in to a hot zone filled with I don't know what and we need to get the intel back to base ASAP so troops can be deployed," the head of the recon team Zeta told his troops as they loaded onto the Cerberus frigate and prepared for departure.

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**AD: Hey all you Fanfic peoples! This is my first Fan Fic so any and all constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged. All flames that have no value will be put into a pile for later rant materials. You have been warned flamers I will use you to fuel my unusual need to rant about things. Also My Co-writer…if I can really call him that is Brony Danza…I didn't choose his name and I don't really know what the hell is wrong in his head but…yeah**

**Brony: There is nothing wrong with me….its jus..SQUIERREL!**

**Ad: O.K. Then. Well that's the chap…hopefully they will get longer and more bad ass but for now. Enjoy and R&R**

**Brony: P.S ….. I promise it will be twenty percent cooler with each chapter, but only if you help.. KCPO **


	2. Chapter 2

"It seemed like yesterday, that nothing could go wrong. We were naïve, and we let our defenses down, only to be taken out by our very best, a defector to a threat we dismissed long ago. I knew the threat first hand, no mistakes, so I did my part and spread the word, but to little effect. Coming from my position it isn't hard to see why, but they were more than willing to listen, provided I give them proof. I had to give them something, and my word wasn't going to be enough. I searched high and low to find anything and anyone that could possibly shed light on this infectious plague of a being that was roaming amuck, free to cause trouble with no reprimand. I had to work fast, but I found people who knew of his corruption, not only did they give me proof; they also became some of my greatest allies. Once I had all the proof I needed, he had already fled, this did not go unheeded, I was to become one of the first of my kind, one to stand above and beyond the rest of my kind, and deep down I knew, I was destined for greatness. And this is the beginning of the tale…of the Shepard…and that is the story on how I was born!" she said.

Her most loyal friend was dumbfounded but merely asked, "How do you….you…just…what?"

The honest one smiled and remarked, "Sugar cube, if that's how it happened, and I believe you, no lie."

The kind one laughed slightly, "Oh I wish my stories could be that exciting…"

The intellectual one simply was flustered on how she could have even thought of that off the top of her head, let alone makes it flow as it did.

But the best reaction came from her generous friend who sat there stumped. "I just don't understand one thing, all this….happened….and you knew about it before you were born? I don't buy it, not one bit, you might as well be telling me that this man dies, comes back and is forced to work with a rouge company that no one likes, just to save his people."

Everyone turned their attention to her as she said. "Red, blue or green….it's all the same."

Cerberus team Zeta had been on planet for over a week and all were in agreement when they thought that this was the strangest planet that any space faring race probably would ever find. The entire planet was reminiscent of the holo vids of a fantasy world created for Television.

The team had landed in a remote mountainous region that the data on their omnitools said had some of the biggest readings of biotic phenomenon had occurred. Near a little village that looked to be built by people back in the Iron Age of humanity but the thing was that horses of all colors of the rainbow were walking and flying around the town as if they lived there.

After the week had passed they came to the conclusion that, in fact, the horses were actually the inhabitants of said village. The only thing that made the week seem all the weirder than horses living in the village was the fact that the flying one had wings and lived in what could only be described as a city made out of clouds.

Zeta squad had reported everything they found over the week no matter how ridiculous it seemed. Even the fact that some of the horses had other animals as pets wasn't left out of the report sent at the end of the week.

"Sir, I believe that the Galactic Council would put this planet under strict watch should they find out that these creatures are not yet technologically advanced as we are," Zeta teams commander told the Illusive Man over the portable holo-communicator that the team brought with them.

"I don't believe I really care what the council will say. I want you to either convince these creatures to leave willingly with you or you can bring them in by force. Your choice, but I will have a few of these creatures sitting in R&D by the end of the month or I will be very disappointed. And I know you understand what happens when I am disappointed in someone," The Illusive Man replied before cutting the holo-feed.

"Better inform the others to start gathering up the locals," The team leader said to himself before contacting his team via the radios in their helmets.

Balloons, party streamers and various other decorations filled what would normally be a quiet library, but today; Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Apple Jack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and many other of their friends all waited in the light of the moon for their friend to come home to the party they had in store.

"Oh I love surprise parties, especially ones for my friends, but I'm friends with everypony so it's no different, and I remember the time you…" she was met with a hoof to the mouth and a quiet suggestion. "Shh! She's coming!" as the door opened they all laid in wait for the lights to come on.

As the room lit up, an array of balloons and confetti covered the mare who entered, but found it was not their friend. "SURPISE TWILIGHT! HAPPY RANDOM PARTY THAT WE THREW YOU CAUSE WE THINK YOUR AWE….hey….Twilight you look different…New hair cut? Hoofacure? OH YOU SHRUNK AND GREW WINGS! …and got a new cutie…mark?" all the other ponies bowed. Rarity spoke up, " Our apologies Princess Luna…Pinkie isn't really the …shiniest gem, if you know what I mean…"

The silly mare replied "Oh Rarity, I'm a horse…not a gem. If I was I think I would be a ruby. Or maybe a Kumquat."

The princess sighed and said with a distraught look upon her face, " She's not here either, has anypony seen Twilight all day?" Before anypony could say a word, Pinkie Pie's Pinkie sense started to go off. "I'd move if I were you Rarity." As Rarity stepped to the side, Twilight teleported in the midst of the party. " Oh where is that book on large and ambiguous creatures?" Twilight mumbled while franticly searching bookshelves, Pinkie pulled out a small paperback book. "Under L silly, you really forget that you alphabetized all your books?"

Twilight took it out of her friend and started searching through it. "No. Not it. Still no. Nothing…" She look puzzled at the book. "Nothing like what I saw. It was as big as a teenaged dragon, but it was..different. No wings, bipedal, its scales were wrong, and it was holding some sort of…metal contraption."

In the middle of Twilight's rant Princess Luna interrupted her. "My sister and I have important news for you Twilight, we believe that an outside force…" Before she could even finish her sentence, the young mare would finish it as if she was inside her mind. " …of great threat? I saw it early this morning, sitting near the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Zecora came and told me all about it. Oddly enough, whatever or whoever it is, I get the feeling it's not here to make friends, I saw it was covered in the blood of whatever it ate last, and it had to have come out of the forest. And they are more than capable of defending themselves"

**AD: Well here is another installment of Terminus Herd…Sorry to all who have been patiently waiting for chapter 2. Well here it is and hope you enjoy it.**


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